Bottling machines for filling narrow necked bottles



March 24, 1970 G. RYDSTROM BOTTLING MACHINES FOR FILLING NARROW NECKED BOTTLES Filed Feb. 28, 1968 FIG.1

FIG.2

United States Patent US. Cl. 141-165 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a machine for filling bottles having a narrow neck and a filling valve provided with a discharge tube adapted to enter the neck of the bottle, a feeding mechanism for the bottles being provided with a centering device adapted to grip and guide the neck of the bottle for temporarily holding said neck in a fixed position as the end of the discharge tube passes down through the mouth of the bottle.

When filling narrow necked bottles a tube is fitted to a filling valve, said tube being adapted to enter the neck of the bottle and is at its end provided with discharge outlets for the liquid. When feeding. the empty bottles into the bottling machine they are guided to their filling stations below the filling valves by means of a so called feeding star, which at the lower portion of a bottle grips one bottle at a time conveying it in a circular path inside a support structure surrounding the feeding star and out on a platform which is rotating together with the filling valve, one platform being provided for each bottle. As soon as the bottle has been transferred to the platform the latter one is raised so that the filling operation can be started.

Bottles with wide necks do not present any problems with respect to finding the correct relative position between the filling valve and the bottle neck. It is true that there are bottles of many types of irregular shape having the neck positioned off centre but in spite of this the filling valve can for instance easily be provided with a guiding device of rubber or the like which in a sufficient manner will place the bottle below the filling valve.

However, the problem with off centre bottle necks is a great deal more difficult when the bottle neck is narrow and a relatively long filling tube has to be introduced through the bottle neck. A solution of said problem requires a device to be arranged at each filling valve gripping the bottle neck and guiding it with great precision into the proper position. However, the installation of such devices can be quite an expensive proposition, considering the fact that bottling machines can have up to 80 filling stations. The bottling machines are further intended to permit a rapid change over from one type of bottle to another, and therefore the dismantling of a centering device of the kind mentioned and mounting of another one means trouble and waste of time. Said disadvantages are eliminated by the present invention by means of a device which makes it possible to use one single attachment, said device being characterized by a disc mounted on said feeding star at the level of the bottle neck, recesses being provided in said disc, which recesses are shaped to grip the bottle neck, and a holding-up device located at the same level as said disc at the point where the feeding star tangentially touches the platforms carrying the bottles, said disc and said holding-up device maintaining the bottle neck in a fixed position as the end of the discharge tube passes down through the mouth of the bottle.

In the accompanying drawing an embodiment of the invention is illustrated, in which:

3,502,120 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of a feeding star equipped wrtha device according to the invention and a bottle in position for the introduction of a filling tube, and

FIG. 2 is a top view of the assembly illustrated in FIG. 1.

In a bottling machine of usual design the part indicated by 1 is a rotatable feeding star with a number of peripheral recesses 2, the size of which substantially corresponds to the diameter of a bottle 3. Bottles 3 are fed in a row to the feeding star 1 on a conveyor 4, and one bottle at a time is gripped by one of the recesses 2 of the star 1 and is given a rotating motion of said star, getting support from a rail 5 running along part of the periphery of the star at the same height as arms 6 of the star 1. Each bottle travels about half a revolution to the point where the filling valves equipped with discharge tubes 7 and located in peripherical arrangement round the bottom surface of a receptacle (not shown) of the machine tangentially touch the star 1. In that position the bottle has been transferred to a platform 8 which may be raised and lowered and is located one under each filling valve, which platform rotates together with the receptacle. The rotating movements of the star 1 and the receptacle are synchronized to the effect that their peripherical speed is equal, and the adjustment is such that a bottle and a filling valve pass the tangential touching point simultaneously. At that moment the bottle shall be raised by the platform, so that the discharge tube 7 will be introduced in the bottle neck.

However, said bottle neck is not always located in centric position relative to the rest of the bottle body, and therefore the risk is ever present that the discharge tube can ram the edge of the mouth and crush said edge or get damaged itself and in order to avoid this, which can lead to trouble and shutdown, the feeding star according to the invention is provided with means by which such drawbacks can be eliminated.

On the star 1 a number of vertical supports 9 are mounted, which carry a disc 10 of about the same diameter as the star 1 and is located at the same level as the necks of the bottles 3, which disc is provided with recesses 11 of such a shape that each bottle is urged by said recess to occupy a determined position independent of said feeding star or said platform. Close to the tangential touching point between the feeding star and the path of discharge tubes 7 a holding-up device 12 is mounted on a rail 5, so that the bottle neck in that position will be guided at least at three points, whereby said bottle when raised towards the discharge tube 7 will occupy a precise and fixed position permitting the discharge tube 7 always to be accurately introduced through the orifice of the bottle neck. Said operation having taken place, there is no longer any risk of damage and the filling can be started in the usual manner. If so desired, the length of the holding.- up device 12 can be extended further along the periphery of the disc 10, up to the length of the rail 5.

The height of the disc 10 and the holding-up device 12 above the platform 8 can be adjusted accordng to the type of bottle to be filled, and this can easily be performed by substituting the supports 9 or adjusting their height. The holding-up device 12 must be radially adjustable relative to the disc 10, so that a suitable play Will be obtained for the bottle neck in order to avoid that said bottle neck would be unduly squeezed.

For short necked bottles the disc 10 and the holding-up device 12 can be adjusted to a height, which is level with the lower end of the discharge tube and further be provided with conical guiding surfaces directed downwards.

What I claim is:

1. A device to be used in bottling machines for filling narrow necked bottles which machines are equipped with discharge tubes to be introduced through the bottle neck mouth and having a feeding star adapted to grip one bottle at a time for conveying said bottle out on a platform carrying the bottles during the filling operation and rotatable together with the discharge tubes, characterized by a disc mounted on said feeding star at the level of the bottle neck, recesses being provided in said disc, which recesses are shaped to grip the bottle neck, and a holdingup device located at the same level as said disc at the point where the feeding star tangentially touches the platforms carrying the bottles, said disc and said hold-up device maintaining the bottle neck in a fixed position as the end of discharge tube passes down through the mouth of the bottle.

2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the recesses of the disc and the holding-up device cooperate in guiding the bottle neck at three points.

3. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the disc is mounted on supports on the feeding. star, which supports are adjustable as to their height level.

which the bottles are guided by the feeding star.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,885,368 11/1932 McLellan 141-165 2,562,815 7/1951 Oscroft 141-165 X 3,380,627 4/1968 Aidlin 198-25 X HOUSTON S. BELL, 1a., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

